The weather was unseasonably cool here last week. With highs only reaching 80 and nightly lows dropping into the 50’s, the weather had me craving winter squashes and toasty drinks. As much as I love the fall, and as happy as I was about the weather, I was feeling a bit cheated. It has been two years since I’ve had access to a grill, and as most of our meals in Europe were either bread and cheese or pasta, I’ve not yet fully satisfied my summer palate.
But, like any good August in the South, the temperatures are rising and things are starting to feel a bit more normal around here. The heat has cured my want for pumpkin and I’ve returned to craving all things summer. Feeling inspired by the simple syrups featured in my previous post, I decided to tinker with a favorite orange butter cookie recipe of mine. Substituting the orange with lemon, and throwing in a pinch of rosemary to spice things up, resulted in a cookie that’s about as summer as you can get.
Using simple syrup in lieu of citrus juice gives these cookies a bit of added freshness, while a pinch of fresh rosemary gives them a nice earthy bite. If rosemary isn’t your thing, you can simply leave it out. I wouldn’t recommend it though. Even my skeptical husband came back for more. If I can make that guy love a cookie with green stuff in it, I think you will be alright. This recipe does make an awfully tasty lemon cookie, but do me a favor and try it with the rosemary at least just once.
Lemon-Rosemary Butter Cookies
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
zest of 2 small lemons
2 tsp minced rosemary, fresh
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp rosemary simple syrup
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Preheat over to 350 F. In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar; beat until creamy and well blended.
Beat in egg yolk, lemon zest, rosemary, and vanilla. Gradually add in flour, beating at a low speed until well combined.
Roll cookies into 1 inch balls and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake cookies for 10 minutes.
Allow your cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for about 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack placed over a piece of foil.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and simple syrup until smooth.
Once your cookies have cooled, dip each cookie into frosting until well coated. Place on cooling rack to harden. About 5 minutes. Once your cookies have hardened, add a second coat of frosting if desired.
Recipe yields about 1 dozen cookies.
The Daily Doss 